Bread Cake with Amaretti di Mombaruzzo

Since I thought that also foreign people could cook this simple recipe I have decide to translate it for you. I am sorry for my Maccheroni English but I am sure that my friends from all over the world can understand me the same. The translation unfortunately will not be so ironic as the original… however, let’s go!!!

By chance have you some stale bread? And what do you do with stale bread??? Do not you throw it, isn’t it? Well, if you have some chickens or  barnyard animals it is right if you give it to them but since I believe that you have others kind of furry friends, this is not your case. So? Zac… straight into the geek plan! Nooo, as old ages ( and our ancient do it really) all everything that can be recycled, we recycle and we will give it a new life to combining it the best raw materials obtaining a beautiful cake and not only, you will feel even a bit more "eco-friendly", seriously this time!

Today, we create a cake that requires patience and of course a pinch of love. Because of the period, we make it even a little horror…

But first, a short introduction to one of the stars of the recipe:

The “amaretto di Mombaruzzo”; it is from Piedmont, soft, with its sweet flavor / bitterness from kernels differs from the classical one, from Saronno. Ok, for you maybe is too complicated to go to Piedmont but any amaretto biscuits that you find at the supermarket it will be okay. (If you do not find this kind of biscuits, also only stale breads does work).

But let's cut to the chase, the ingredients, for the fact that the cake is a recovery cake, are a bit random, trust your instincts and to the pike dive finger in the mixture, yes yes, YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Ingredients:

300 gr. Stale bread (don’t buy it, please!)

400 gr of Amaretti biscuits

Well, we had more amaretti and less bread, if you have more bread and less amaretti,  the ratio is 500 gr. of bread and 300 gr. of Amaretti biscuits.

3 generous spoon of bitter cocoa powder

1 spoon and half of fine sugar

3 entire eggs ( in the pics you can see only two eggs, but the third has been  added  during remixing; it depends if your eggs are little or big)

Peanuts (60 gr. or more, it’s up to your taste)

Raisin ( It’s up to your taste, I don’t like raisin into the sweets, I like it on pasta… yes, I am strange)

A yolk of Cognac ( you will understand it)

Dry breadcrumbs ( if you have a lot of stale bread and a good electric grater, you can do it by your own, then you can store it in a tapperware with a bay leaf, this helps to prevent from dampness)

Fresh milk, 1 lt and a bit more

Convection oven 180° C / 356° F for 1h 15’ / 1h 30’: your faithful friend toothpicks will help you understand if the cake is ready or not, just a little pierce and if it comes out clean just turned from crime, the cake is cooked to perfection

Creative Stage

First ingredients that you need will be the stale bread, the amaretti and the milk.

With a lot of patient, dice the bread with a good bread knife, if you have miss the Zumba lesson, don’t worry, you will make a successful training as same  and then pour the milk, about ¾ of bottle.

After that  crumble the amaretti, my mother and me have used a meat tenderizer always to do a little training and, in that case was a sane punching ball  and add the crumble amaretti, not disintegrated eh!

Then you will notice that the can that you have used it is too little so you need a bigger one, change the bowl and the little one keep it aside, maybe you will need it.

And now is the cocoa moment, look it, it is marvelleous!!!

At this moment I would already like to taste it!!! However add the milk slowly, you should understand how much add it.

In the second pic you can see that is more than the first one. Ah, a little advise: when you use a wood spoon for the dessert, a little caution is to take away it from the others wood spoons; wood is porous and it absorb  all the smells. So it is better for the cake to have a proper wood spoon; a small gesture to bring joy and to tantalize your taste buds.

Afterwards mix with care, from the top to down  and if you believe in the magical movements always in clockwise.

Now, put the mixture in the previous can or let it in the used bowl, the important is that the bowl can be well closed, because it is the moment that the mixture goes to sleep in the fridge after the Zumba fitness, and also you, go to  watch a good movie or go to have an hot bath with your favorite book or go to get the cuddles: relax yourself!!!! You will think tomorrow to finish the cake. Otherwise,  if you are victim of “ all and now that I have to do 9487593 things all contemporary and I cannot waste my time” you can use a cookery robot or a minipimer, in that case you should  dose and mix both milk and dry breadcrumbs ; your mixture should be creamy/fluid/creamy, not fluid/creamy/fluid.

However, we (that doing things as ancient people) have keep the mixture today after lunch, because it was quiet in the fridge, well closed and safe from stink of onions, salami and various cheeses.

Now you need these.

First put the eggs once a time and not too cold, it would be better if you take off the eggs from the fridge some moments in advance when you prepare a cake, so, add 1 egg and mix from top to down, add the other one and repeat the movement. If your eggs are too little add one, you can use your common sense.

After that is alcohol time! Your dose will be a half of eggshell, it is useless to dirty other pottery!

Well blend all the mixture and join the sugar, mix, join the dry breadcrumbs – remember: creamy/ fluid/ creamy. Add a handful at a time and turn, stir, be the mixture!!!

Now just add peanuts, not all, and if you want also the raisin. You can soak the raisins for a bit in a little cognac and water.

  In the meanwhile, if you have a daughter or someone round you, let herself do the dirty job:  buttery the mold; I used a silicone brush because I had the camera in my hands but if you can, use your hand! It’s really funny! To take contact with the food is an atavistic pleasure! When you will wash your hands, forget that the butter go away, you can spread your elbows with it.

 

 

Trick: pull out the butter in advance from the fridge it will be more workable. At this moment of the recipe, you will switch on the oven. Once you have spread the butter in the mold put the mold in the oven and count to 10, after that put off the mold and add the dry breadcrumbs on the bottoms and sides, throw away the excess.

Tip the mixture in the mold and with a spoon (licking pots??? I really do not find this word translation…)

Beat vigorously on a countertop to remove any air bubbles.

 

Keep the remaining peanuts and decorate as your taste, we have made a terrifying and horrific Jack O’Lantern.

Voilà!!! is not magnificent this decoration? It took at least three quarters of an hour; we were nearly  that we used a squad, rulers and engineering programs… ok, it is a real homemade decoration.

Finally a sprinkle of sugar on the top will make a good crusty crunch!

 

Baked for necessary time.

It is really terrifying!!!